U.S. regulators, who ended their investigation into the Chevrolet Volt, said electric-powered vehicles do not pose a greater risk of fire than gasoline cars, Bloomberg reports.
“Based on the available data, NHTSA does not believe that Chevy Volts or other electric vehicles pose a greater risk of fire than gasoline-powered vehicles,” the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said in an e-mailed statement.
The conclusion by NHTSA came two weeks after General Motors Co. told Volt owners to bring the vehicles to dealerships for repair.
The government started investigating the Volt after a side- impact crash test in May led to a fire three weeks later. During that test, the lithium-ion battery pack broke open and coolant leaked into the battery. When the car was physically rotated as part of the test, more coolant leaked into a circuit board, leading to a fire. NHTSA replicated the fire in November and started an official probe Nov. 25.
“GM is proud of the technological innovation the Volt represents,” Greg Martin, a GM spokesman, said in an e-mailed statement. “We appreciate the confidence our Volt customers continued to provide during the investigation.”
